Using XML to Manage the Abstraction Layer

Extensible Markup Language (XML) files and technology allow the customization of input/out into an abstract web-enabled database with amazing flexibility. This technology allows one database to accommodate disparate data and reporting requirements across a theoretically unlimited array of regulatory data collection and harvesting issues without the writing of a single line of code. And it allows the updating and editing of the individual data collection within minutes.

Cryogenic Tank Monitoring and Reporting System

A leading mid-west manufacturer of cryogenic tanks was looking to improve the safeguards and monitoring capabilities of the vessels they were providing to their customers. Cryogenic tanks are used to store biologic material such as sperm cells, ova, embryos, stem cells, and tissue. Obviously, the temperature controls on these tanks is critical to preserving the viability of their contents. To enhance the value and reliability of their product, our client asked us to work with them to develop a monitoring and alarm system which would continuously observe and report on the condition of each tank.

Robotics Software

The GAGE Robot

We partnered with a NJ engineering firm to design a robot for one of the leading firms in the semi-conductor manufacturing industry. That company made high definition automated cameras which examined the crystalline structure of silicon wafers to detect imperfections in the manufacturing process. There were issues with the speed of the process in that the camera could do their work much faster than the wafers could be delivered to and received from the cameras. The task was complicated by very precise requirements on the way the wafers were presented to the cameras, and the fact that there were different size wafers used in the process to which the robot needed to be agnostic.

Enterprise-wise Budgeting and Forecasting System

A leading American operator of amusement parks had a need for controlling cash and inventory for their many disparate profit centers. At the time, they had 12 parks, with each park having multiple departments, such as rides, restaurants, gift shops , and even down to the individual hot dog stands. While each profit center had it own P&L, they were grouped and had common inventory and purchasing. For instance, each park might have a few dozen hot dog stands, but they ‘bought’ inventory from a common supplier, and had their aggregate profits ‘rolled up’ at the end of the period.The company had been using spreadsheets that the local centers willed out and then forwarded to corporate for consolidation. The problem with that was it entailed a lot of manual effort, and invariably ran into issues when new line items or new centers were added – events which occurred multiple times a week.

Medical Billing Software

We were hired by a small company in northern NJ back in 1995, who had a business doing medical billing for a few ambulatory surgery centers, their doctors, and anesthesiologists. At the time they were using a small Paradox database originally designed for Windows 3.1. The system was inadequate for their business the, which was grossing a little less than $2 million a year.